Residents Boiling Over Water Bills

SANFORD — Midway residents are calling for an investigation into a community water cooperative they say is charging exorbitant rates without accounting for where the money is going.

But the president of the Midway-Canaan Water Association said his organization has nothing to hide and is just meeting expenses.

Midway-Canaan is a cooperative formed in 1966 to take Sanford water to residents of the low-income community east of the city. The organization took out a federal loan to build a system of pipes. It buys water from Sanford and distributes it to about 650 members.

The cooperative charges homeowners a monthly base rate of $12.20, and $1.70 per 1,000 gallons of water used. Sanford, in contrast, charges customers a $1.78 base rate and $1.18 per 1,000 gallons. Seminole County charges a $4.50 base rate and 55 cents per 1,000 gallons up to 15,000 gallons.

That means a homeowner using 15,000 gallons of water would pay the county about $13, Sanford about $20 and the cooperative about $37.

Vivian Jamison of Church Street in Midway said her bills used to run $13 or $14 a month. Now they're averaging $30 to $40, she said.

Delorise Thompson said her daughter, Sandra Thompson, has had bills as high as $100, even after a leak was fixed.

''I've had to take some money out of my pockets and start paying. Other bills I had to neglect,'' she said.

Willie Cummings, president of the cooperative, said it has operated for more than 20 years without complaints. But over the past six months, he said, ''we have had a few irate customers.''

The cooperative is a non-profit organization. Sanford can afford to charge cheaper rates because it has more customers, Cummings said. An average homeowner might pay the cooperative $20 a month, he said.

Cummings said the high bills people have complained about - $50, $75 and $100 - must be the result of serious leaks.

With Cummings' estimate of an average bill, the cooperative would take in about $13,000 a month. It pays Sanford $6,000 to $8,000 a month for its water. It pays the Farmers Home Administration $750 a month to repay a loan for building the water system. Maintenance and office supplies cost about $500 a month, he said.

Two meter readers are paid about $100 a month. Cummings said he, an office manager, a secretary and a bookkeeper each receive $170 to $200 a month. The amount varies according to how much money is left over after expenses.

''We're given a little extra,'' Cummings said. ''It's not what you call pay. Who would do what we're doing without any reimbursement?''

The association's bylaws state: ''Compensation of officers may be fixed at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors.''

Johnell Jackson, a community activist for Midway who now lives in Sanford, said too much money is floating around. Jackson is trying to collect enough signatures on a petition to prompt the state attorney's office to investigate.

Cummings said, ''there's not much (money) left over'' after bills are paid. The cooperative is regularly audited, and the cooperative's books are open for review, he said.